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MovieMail's Review
Five BBC plays from Rosenthal. His three 1970s 'Plays for Today' - The Evacuees, Bar Mitzvah Boy and Spend Spend Spend - are three of the best British films of their era, says Julian Upton.
It’s heartening to see more of the BBC’s Play for Today productions making it to DVD, even if they tend to be the work of the more prolific and celebrated writers. TV plays have not enjoyed the same lifespan as British movies, which is a pity - during the seventies, at least, they were often far superior. And few were more delightful than those by Jack Rosenthal.
Indeed, The Evacuees, Bar Mitzvah Boy and Spend Spend Spend stand simply as three of the best British films of their time. The first two are poignant and amusing evocations of the bittersweet trauma of childhood. The Evacuees (1975), in which two Jewish children are shipped from Manchester to Blackpool during World War II, further benefits from assured direction by a novice Alan Parker, whose TV commercials had stood him in good stead for getting the best out of young performers.
Bar Mitzvah Boy (1976), which sees its eponymous 13-year-old recoil from tradition, is not as directly autobiographical as The Evacuees but is brightly illuminated by the author’s experiences and is generally regarded as his masterpiece. Spend Spend Spend (1977) is quite different, an adaptation of the memoirs of the much-defamed sixties Pools winner Viv Nicholson, who, with her husband Keith, won — and lost — £152,000, a sum worth £3 million today. But it chimes with Rosenthal’s characteristically salty dialogue, and its elaborate structure (artfully assembled by director John Goldschmidt) achieves the maximum tragicomic effect. Spend is also a wonderful showcase for the late and now sadly forgotten Susan Littler. As Viv — all Yorkshire grit, elfin pluck and unabashed sexiness — she delivers a knock-out performance.
Eskimo Day and its follow-up, Cold Enough for Snow, were made in the mid-90s, long after the demise of Play for Today, and their good-natured takes on A-level students (and their twitchy parents) anticipating university life betray a gentler, more old-fashioned worldview on Rosenthal’s part. But they are equally rich with quirky characterisations and boast terrific ensemble playing. Eskimo Day is also memorable as the final screen appearance of the great Sir Alec Guinness.
Maureen Lipman, wife of Jack Rosenthal, co-biographer and muse, discusses his career and introduces each play with contemporary recollections
Jack Rosenthal Biography by Amy Rosenthal.
Film Description
Jack Rosenthal’s name stands high in the list of television’s greatest dramatists. This collection of his work at the BBC contains his plays The Evacuees (directed by a young Alan Parker, 1975), Bar Mitzvah Boy (1976), Spend Spend Spend (1977), Eskimo Day (1996) and Cold Enough for Snow (1997).
Jack Rosenthal brought to his writing knowledge of, and love for, the everyman; the man or woman in the street, the worker, labourer, taxi driver, parent and child. Witty, insightful, rich in irony and human observation, even his villains reveal a human side he couldn’t resist exploring.
These five plays capture a playwright at his zenith, in a range of work that speaks both to his experience and his empathy. Featuring Maureen Lipman, Susan Littler, Maria Charles, Adrienne Posta, Jonathan Lynn, John Duttine, Tom Wilkinson, Anna Carteret and Laura Howard, they will be treasured by anyone who appreciates fine drama.
This has to be one of the most cherishable sets to appear in the DVD medium, with Jack Rosenthal's marvellous body of work offering all the insight and entertainment i... more >
This has to be one of the most cherishable sets to appear in the DVD medium, with Jack Rosenthal's marvellous body of work offering all the insight and entertainment it did when originally shown. A word of warning: Rosenthal's widow, Maureen Lipman, offers invaluable on-camera insights, but they are presented as introductions - and they are most definitely afterwords, with spoilers galore! But it's an unmissable set. < less
